Michele Morrow – Nerdisthttp://nerdist.com
Sat, 10 Dec 2016 02:30:53 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Twitch Round Up: Extra Life Gaming Marathon, Hallow’s End and More!http://nerdist.com/twitch-round-up-extra-life-gaming-marathon-hallows-end-and-more/
http://nerdist.com/twitch-round-up-extra-life-gaming-marathon-hallows-end-and-more/#commentsTue, 28 Oct 2014 22:15:37 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=195863Team Nerdist and friends participated in the 24 hour Extra Life Marathon benefiting Children’s Miracle Hospitals this past weekend and were able to collectively raise $7,652. Thank you to everyone who donated, joined in, subscribed and followed our adventures into the various genres of gaming. If you don’t know what Extra Life is — you should.

It all started with a brave, little girl named Victoria Enmon, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2004 at the age of eleven. “Tori” fought cancer over the course of four years, and sometimes during cancer treatments she would be alone in the oncology ward for long periods as her immune system was so low, she couldn’t be around other people for fear of infection. Victoria loved playing video games and they gave her something to do — something to connect with — when times got rough. With the help of the gaming community, Tori received games and gaming systems from all over the world. She received so many games, that she began giving them to other children in the hospital who were also suffering alone. Victoria lost her battle with cancer in 2008 and inspired this charity, Extra Life, to continue battling for all the other children in hospitals that could use a friend, or an escape.

So I say to everyone: this is where we all take a step back and realize that “gaming” is the great equalizer — it’s participatory. It has no judgement. It sees no gender, no race, no age… and no disease. Gaming is an activity that we can all join in and just have fun. Extra Life is an amazing charitable organization that helps us remember that this one little girl gave us a platform in which we can help continue her fight by remembering what got her through the tough times. So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you to all the gamers who engaged with Extra Life 2014. What we can do as a community is truly inspiring.

Now, per usual, I have for you our Nerdist Twitch Roundup and Weekly Scheduled Forecast for what you missed out on, and what’s to come in the week ahead:

Every other Tuesday, 12pm – 1pm PST: The Single Player – Dating Sims and Advice, with Jessica Chobot

The Funderdome was temporarily moved to become our Saturday through Sunday 24 hour 9am – 9pm Extra Life Marathon! Nerdist HQ was packed with special guests and friends while we raised money for kids in need. Even Chris Hardwick himself stopped by and started the baffling conversation of whether a taco is – or is not – a sandwich, while we played Heroes of the Storm (Alpha) with Malik, Dan, Jesse, Michele, Michael Weitzman and VO actor, Orion Acaba. However, the real madness began with our epic Nidhogg tournament. Luckily, we have an archive for those of you who missed it, or those that just want to relive it! But be warned: the sound is VERY LOUD, as there were about 20 people in the room screaming and cheering.

While all the matches were insanely exciting, we highly suggest checking out Dan vs. Malik at approximately 42 minutes. Dan took the first round from Malik like candy from a baby, but Malik was out for pixelated blood-splatter in one of the most savage games of Nidhogg ever seen. Malik’s yellow avatar brutally eviscerated Dan’s orange body, TWICE, with his sword for a very, VERY, long time and eventually got his point across to take round two. No spoilers for the tie-breaker– you’ll have to watch for yourselves. And later, approximately 1 hour in, the winners advanced into a new bracket and brought with it, Michele vs. Max in one of the longest, most brutal battles of the night. Max took round one, but round two was perfectly executed by Michele (if I do say so myself). Round three is where the insanity levels up, as I introduced the “Twerk” move along with the “Bait and Switch” suicide combo to deceive and frighten Max at about 1 hour 45 minutes. Find out who took home the title below:

Last week, Jessica, Malik and Dan braved the first two chapters of The Evil Within, surviving many chainsaws. With an overstated obsession with “Brain Juice” (or whatever is contained in those glowing vials), our three heroes found that the rampant tossing of discarded Sangria bottles at “Chainsaw Pete” and “Officer Murdersby” was the only solution. Malik spent the remainder of the afternoon struggling with the big chainsaw boss, but eventually defeated him with some clever traps and shotgun blasts to finish Chapter 3. Although this game has been met with mediocre scores, we’ll be having lots more fun with this game on our stream in the future. Check in this week to find out what Malik has in store for us next…

Wednesday, 12pm – 2pm PST: MASSIVE – Creating <Nerdist> guilds, clans and more in the world of MMOs, with Michele Morrow

The long awaited World of Warcraft patch 6.0.2: “The Iron Tide” dropped last Tuesday and we couldn’t wait to play with our new <Nerdist> guild on Thorium Brotherhood! Unfortunately… our computer decided to (in the words of Dan Casey) “cosplay as patch day” and, you know… not work. For hours we begged our computer and prayed to our guild’s almighty Green Burrito… to no avail. Because the computer was against us, Michele and Malik fired up the Playstation and went head to head in one of the most epic games of Nidhogg that would only be witnessed by our producer, Jesse. Much orange and yellow blood was spilt as the two M’s fought back and forth, from one end of the screen to the other – throwing swords and fencing for their lives. A victor emerged… but it wasn’t on Twitch, because our computer hated us, so you’ll have to ask Jesse who won. This coming week, Michele will be recruiting members and delving into all things Iron Tide, from new character models, toy box and mount collection exploration, pre-expansion quests at the Dark Portal, the revamped Upper Black Rock Spire (UBRS), as well as how the heck to play a Priest with all the new changes. Michele will be playing on her alt, Maldaa, and is currently accepting new members (with no level restrictions) in our new <Nerdist> community guild!

The Funderdome was fueled by FizzCo last week as Malik, Dan and Jess teased the highly anticipated Sunset Overdrive. It seems Malik’s white pants have been temporarily replaced by a new, audience requested, character and outfit: a bulky Asian dude in pink panties and sandles. Yes, you read that right. Sunset City also provided grounds for our hosts to explore all the possible innuendos involving the word grind. After that, more epic Nidhogg… because no one can get enough of that game (it’s that good). This coming week is full of surprises, because the first rule of Funderdome is no one talks about what will happen in the Funderdome until it’s actually happening. – Thanks for following and subscribing to our Twitch channel! Got an emote you’d like to see? Let me know @michelemorrow and we’ll see you on the stream!

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And if you want to tune in without leaving this page, we’ve got you covered!

]]>Twitch Round Up: Jessica Chobot, Malik Forté, Dan Casey & More Launch Official Nerdist Twitch Channelhttp://nerdist.com/twitch-round-up-jessica-chobot-malik-forte-dan-casey-more-launch-official-nerdist-twitch-channel/
http://nerdist.com/twitch-round-up-jessica-chobot-malik-forte-dan-casey-more-launch-official-nerdist-twitch-channel/#commentsTue, 14 Oct 2014 19:30:23 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=191463If you haven’t heard by now, it’s been getting Twitchy over here at Nerdist Headquarters! Our great and mighty Gaming Editor, Malik Forté, announced that October 3rd would kick off Nerdist’s foray into the omnipresent stream with our very own channel: Twitch.tv/Nerdist. Our first twelve hour event included playing games with our friends from Loot Crate, Smosh Games, as well as Mario Kart 8 with RocketJump. During our time together, Malik’s white pants were immortalized, Nerdist was confirmed to be in the Illuminati, and our Producer, Jesse McKeil, took the lives of at least a dozen cookies. Subscribers to our channel were also hand fed our first set of Twitch Emotes, including the Nerdist laser, the face of Malik, two faces of both Jessica Chobot and Dan Casey, and of course, a burrito.

Every week I’ll be highlighting the best moments from our scheduled show lineup and give you a taste of what’s to come for the week ahead. Some of our Twitch abilities are still underway, but we’ll have clips for you soon! Here’s our current schedule, but more shows will be added in the very near future:

Every other Tuesday, 12pm – 1pm PST: The Single Player – Dating Sims and Advice, with Jessica Chobot

Last week Jessica learned what it’s like to be a dead girl in the dating world. No, really. And she’s doing it again next week. Well, maybe not the dead part, but you never know.

Wednesday, 12pm – 2pm PST: MASSIVE – Creating <Nerdist> guilds, clans and more in the world of MMOs, with Michele Morrow

Starting off with World of Warcraft, let’s get to know each other a little better and create our very own <Nerdist> guild. If you ever needed a reason to re-sub or satiate your WoW curiosity, there is no better time: Patch 6.0.2 just dropped in preparation for Warcraft’s newest expansion, Warlords of Draenor. A lot has changed since the game’s original release in 2004, and we’ll be exploring all of it on my weekly stream with activities ranging from Raiding, PvP, Battlegrounds, Arena, Achievement Runs, Holiday Events, Special Nerdist Events, giveaways and more. Recruitment is currently open with no level restriction, and anyone in guild can send you an invite. Our rules are the same as our Twitch rules… basically, “don’t be a jerk.” Look for me on my alt, Maldaa the Undead Priest, on Thorium Brotherhood.

This week, I discovered that being the co-host of Blizzcon and creating <Nerdist> on a PvP RP server was the equivalent of painting a gank target on my soul. For two hours, I was relentlessly death camped by the voracious Alliance on Emerald Dream. Bloodthirsty for my under-geared priest, I tried to hide behind Garrosh Hellscream (of all things) while setting up the guild. But nothing could stop them — Victory AND Death, kamikaze style. Every server in World of Warcraft has its own political environment, and it’s hard to know what you’re walking into… until you keep resurrecting with an angry axe to the face. For players on Emerald Dream, both PvP’ers and RP’ers had strong concerns about the Nerdist community transferring in hundreds of new players who could potentially disturb their “server balance” of equal faction representation. The most disheartening thing I learned was that the RP community on their realm is suffering due to opposing faction griefers… and that totally sucks because they were afraid we would bring more grief.

Even if you don’t personally want to role-play, as a fellow nerd, you should try not to intentionally interrupt RP. However, this can be quite difficult to maintain on a very active, highly populated “PvP RP” server. Some PvP’ers claim they are RP’ing “as jerks,” but many people have very specific definitions for what constitutes true role-playing… and RP’ing “as jerks” doesn’t count to them. That said, the true definition of role-playing is personal to everyone and varies from the very serious to the very silly. That doesn’t mean that the declining state of the Emerald Dream RP community is something to ignore. I don’t know the answer. But my eyes are now open to how PvP and RP would be a difficult co-existence, in that it’s defined as “the norm” but not necessarily mandatory.

For the sake of having a productive weekly stream, I cast a sleep spell on all <Nerdist> members which put them into a deep slumber inside the Emerald Dream. And when they awake, they will find we have been magically transferred to the Thorium Brotherhood, a PvE RP realm. For those <Nerdist> members that want to contribute to building our RP back-story, we are holding a writing initiative after receiving several submissions already! Send us your ideas to gaming@nerdist.com and we will pick one to publish on my column, Massive. Feel free to include Nerdist inside jokes that can be weaved into the Warcraft universe — burritos, white pants, Doctor Who, etc.

Friday, 2pm – 4pm PST:Friday Funderdome – Team Nerdist and friends take gaming to the EXTREME

Nerdist’s Twitch Producer, Jesse McKeil, and Nerdist News Writer, Ben Mekler, reminisced about the good old days of the original Playstation by playing their childhood favorites: Gex: Enter the Gecko and Rascal.

This week there’s a rumor floating around the office that RocketJump may be swinging by for a guest appearance. Other rumors suggest that the team will be tackling Sunset Overdrive. You never know who will enter the FUNDERDOME!

]]>http://nerdist.com/twitch-round-up-jessica-chobot-malik-forte-dan-casey-more-launch-official-nerdist-twitch-channel/feed/3Classic Arcade Bar ‘EightyTwo’ Opens Doors in Los Angeleshttp://nerdist.com/classic-arcade-bar-eightytwo-opens-doors-in-los-angeles/
http://nerdist.com/classic-arcade-bar-eightytwo-opens-doors-in-los-angeles/#commentsFri, 28 Mar 2014 17:30:45 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=126030The golden age of arcades dominated the scene in the early 1980s. Although we’ve grown accustomed to our at-home gaming environments, there’s nothing quite like the social experience of plugging quarters into those old-school cabinets.

Bar Arcades, or “Barcades,” have popped up in major cities across the country. Among some of the more famous are the original Barcade in Brookyn, Ground Kontrol in Portland, and Insert Coin(s) in Las Vegas. Finally, Los Angeles has its own nostalgic destination with the brand new EightyTwo.

With its grand opening last weekend, Scott Davids and Noah Sutcliffe opened the doors to their classic arcade in L.A.’s Downtown Arts District. Co-Founder Scott Davids has assembled and personally restored EightyTwo’s impressive arcade collection, which includes the old wireframe Star Wars (Cockpit), Gauntlet, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Street Fighter II. Separated by a large open air patio is yet another room lined solely with vintage pinball machines, owned by Pins and Needles‘ Molly Atkinson. “Pinball Molly” will also serve as EightyTwo’s manager and resident technician.

In a very cool coincidence, it turns out that Davids produced a sci-fi short which was featured on Nerdist’s YouTube Channel in 2013 called The Final Moments of Karl Brant, starring Pee-Wee Herman himself, Paul Reubens.

Several of us at Nerdist attended EightyTwo’s opening weekend and we cannot recommend it enough:

EightyTwo is located at 707 East 4th Place, just steps from Würstkuche, Angel City Brewery and Umami Burger, in the heart of Downtown L.A.’s Arts District. It’s open Tuesday thriugh Friday 5 PM till 2 AM, Saturday and Sunday 12 PM through 2 AM, and closed Mondays. For more information, check their website at www.eightytwo.la. Be looking out for announcements on their upcoming Pinball League!

]]>http://nerdist.com/classic-arcade-bar-eightytwo-opens-doors-in-los-angeles/feed/9Ladies of Rap: The Awkward Kids Get Naughtyhttp://nerdist.com/ladies-of-rap-the-awkward-kids-get-naughty/
http://nerdist.com/ladies-of-rap-the-awkward-kids-get-naughty/#commentsSun, 22 Dec 2013 01:00:55 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=103070The Awkward Kids’ Ladies of Rap is making noise on the YouTube scene, a rambunctious comedy rap series centering on some of nerd culture’s best female characters and personalities. The all-female sketch comedy group has no filter, and therefore no problem tearing directly into the often controversial, overly-sexualized representations of the heroes and villains whom our beloved internet has commonly perverted.

Using this deviant charm to their advantage, Awkward Kids members Dana Pacheco, Christiann Castellanos, and Michelle Glavan serve up the nerdy stereotypes of both genders via highly-stylized video rap battles. Spoofing the fandom and franchises of giants like the Gotham City Sirens, Game of Thrones, and Tim Burton flicks, these women also tackle broader nerdy stereotypes like famous vampire girlfriends and dudes who love arcades. Prepare yourself for some ridiculously sexual, in-your-face, epic rap battles between the women of fantasy worlds:

There’s a bit of a void in the female internet rap comedy game, and it’s awesome to see some fearless femmes in the mix. Notable collaborators on their channel include Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart, JacksFilms, Aimee Teegarden, Jason Horton, Anders Holm, McGoiter, and many more. They’ve also been nominated for two L.A. Weekly Web awards for “Best YouTube Star” and “Best Original YouTube Song”, and been featured in New Media Rockstar‘s annual list of “Creators You Should Know“. The girls have also performed live on the main stages of Playlist Live, VidCon, the Hollywood Improv, Upright Citizens Brigade, the Gibson Guitar Bus, and even our very own Nerdmelt Showroom.

To kick off 2014, Ladies of Rap are planning on a Marvel vs. DC rap battle, of which you can be a part: Making high quality videos is serious business, so they’ve set up a Patreon Page to involve their fans and properly compensate their hardworking crew.

Check out Awkward Kids’ Ladies of Rap on social media and tell them about which nerdy subject you’d like a rap battle in 2014:

]]>http://nerdist.com/ladies-of-rap-the-awkward-kids-get-naughty/feed/1Super Mario Bros. Gets Gritty in THE FOUR PLAYERShttp://nerdist.com/super-mario-bros-gets-gritty-in-the-four-players/
http://nerdist.com/super-mario-bros-gets-gritty-in-the-four-players/#commentsWed, 20 Nov 2013 20:30:33 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=98337When most of us think of Nintendo, we think “friendly.” Nostalgic to millions, Nintendo conjures the emotions of a certain innocence. Retrospectively, though, this innocence isn’t just about our collective childhoods, it’s also about the innocence of technology. The original Super Mario Bros., released 27 years ago in the autumn of 1985, gave the video game industry a giant 1-up with its commercial success. Even though the 8-bit graphics of the time could pull off darker themes in other franchises, how many of us have actually considered the emotional damage and repercussions that Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and her loyal courtier, Toad, have endured?

Feudal Systems recently reimagined the Mushroom Kingdom as a gritty tale with themes of sacrifice, duty, torture, and addiction. Four cinematic shorts, collectively titled The Four Players, were recently released on Polaris, individually titled The Fixer (Mario), The Addict (Luigi), The Soldier (Toad), and The Star (Peach).

Evan Daugherty, writer/director of The Four Players, is also behind Snow White and the Huntsman and the upcoming Divergent, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and G.I. Joe 3. Daugherty assembled an incredible crew of talent, including Try This at Home‘s Holly Conrad for production design, creature design and effects.

Daugherty also recruited composer Eric Desiderio to create the music for The Soldier, which was recorded by a 63 piece orchestra in Bulgaria, with Desiderio playing 12 string guitar on top. The VFX were done by Oscar winning VFX house Rhythm and Hues.

THE FIXER (Mario)

“THE FIXER decides he can’t let things stay broken any longer.”

Starring Brian Gonzales as The Fixer.

THE ADDICT (Luigi)

“THE ADDICT receives a reminder from his past that forces him to rethink his present.”

Starring Jonathan Brooks as The Addict.

THE SOLDIER (Toad)

“THE SOLDIER takes desperate action for the sake of his Kingdom.”

Starring Se Young Kang and Heather Sims as The Soldier.

THE STAR (Princess Toadstool / Peach)

“THE STAR contemplates happier times while suffering at the hands of her captors.”

Starring Cassie Shea Watson as The Star.

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Let us know what you think in the comments below, or talk about it on Twitter with me.

]]>http://nerdist.com/super-mario-bros-gets-gritty-in-the-four-players/feed/75 Gaming Apps to Get You in the Halloween Spirithttp://nerdist.com/5-gaming-apps-to-get-you-in-the-halloween-spirit/
http://nerdist.com/5-gaming-apps-to-get-you-in-the-halloween-spirit/#commentsTue, 22 Oct 2013 18:00:59 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=94156Want some spooky apps for the holiday? We’ve got you covered. From tower defense to high strategy, below are five Halloween-appropriate games that should get your mobile device in the spirit. So, charge up your phones and get ready to drain those batteries.

Like The Walking Dead or Contagion? Then you’ll love Plague Inc. This game is terrifying. You’re about to spread a deadly, worldwide disease that pits you against the rest of mankind. As humanity searches for a cure, you must do everything in your power to ensure no one survives. Beyond its freaky simulation is a killer strategy game. Thanks for the nightmares, Ndemic Creations!

Once a Nintendo DS title, Com2Us brings The Mansion back with a legendary series of locked rooms in a world that feels haunting, magical, and a little bit steampunk. Both Indicade and IGF awarded the game top honors this year. Your objective is to help our tiny protagonist, Anne, escape through the creepy “toymaker’s” mysterious mansion. It’s really beautiful and engaging. Definitely a game you can become committed to. Note: Currently there’s a glitch at level 18, but developers have said they are working on the fix. You have plenty of time to puzzle through this haunted house before that anyway.

Grizzly bears are scary, and therefore I deem this game “on-theme” for Halloween. FIST OF AWESOME (yes all caps) is about disaster survivor Tim Burr, who in the midst of chaos has grown the Mjölnir of fists. You see, several species have developed homicidal behavior, and it’s up to you, as Burr, to fight ’em off with superior uppercuts, jump kicks, and stomps. Surprisingly, the entire game, including the controls, are extremely smooth. I say suprisingly, because I bought this game strictly off its own description. They had me at “It’s a bit like Quantum Leap but with more bears and lumberjacks”:

“Have you ever wanted to punch a bear IN THE MOUTH?

When Tim Burr’s family disappeared and his house spontaneously burst into flames he thought his day was as about bad as it could get. That’s when his hand became self-aware and broke the horrific news that the world was now ruled by bears. Join Tim as he embarks on an epic battle across time and space, unravelling the bear-ridden damage to Earth’s timeline. It’s a bit like Quantum Leap but with more bears and lumberjacks.

FIST OF AWESOME is a heartfelt love-letter to golden classics like Double Dragon, Streets of Rage and Final Fight. Prepare yourself for the most epic time-travelling-lumberjack-em-up OF ALL TIME!”

Disturbing, eerie and covered in shadows is the remarkably beautiful Limbo. Starting on consoles, this game moved to mobile. Although only available on iOS, there are talks of an Android version soon. Due to the immersive nature of this game, I personally find the experience better with the intimacy of a tablet. Critically acclaimed, with most major outlets rating it 10/10, it’s also won a slew of awards including “Best Indie Game” by Kotaku. It’s a puzzle game you don’t want to miss.

ZombieSmash has been out for a long time, but it’s fun to bring back and play this time of year. It’s classic tower defense, but with the zombies! Four game modes (Campaign, Endless, Sandbox and Night) up the replay value and intended humor.

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Happy Halloween! Are there any apps you would add to this list? Follow me on Twitter @michelemorrow and sound off in the comments below!

]]>http://nerdist.com/5-gaming-apps-to-get-you-in-the-halloween-spirit/feed/3Massive: WORLD OF WARCRAFT’s New Horde Warchief (SPOILERS)http://nerdist.com/massive-world-of-warcrafts-new-horde-warchief-spoilers/
http://nerdist.com/massive-world-of-warcrafts-new-horde-warchief-spoilers/#commentsFri, 13 Sep 2013 08:00:16 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=89427Less than 48 hours after World of Warcraft‘s Patch 5.4, “The Siege of Orgrimmar”, was released, WoWProgress.com listed Alliance guild “Availed” (Anvilmar – US) to take World’s First in the defeat of 10-player Garrosh Hellscream. Hours later, Horde guild “Void” (Laughing Skull – US), claimed their victory. So much for pausing to smell the Stratholme Lilies, huh? Two different end-game cinematics have surfaced – one for each faction. Check ’em out below.

UNOFFICIAL ALLIANCE SIDE GARROSH DEFEAT CINEMATIC:

UNOFFICIAL HORDE SIDE GARROSH DEFEAT CINEMATIC:

Now for the spoilers (of what we know so far):

1) The new Horde Warchief is Vol’jin! Finally, a Warchief who can do handstands.

3) Lastly, Varian Wrynn finally feels like a real KING for once (even though his role in the Alliance cinematic reminded me a lot of Stannis Baratheon). He yelled! He grunted! He struck his sword into the ground! You know, KING STUFF. Perhaps I’m biased – I usually see things through the Horde point of view, but the Alli have always seemed to lack that strong center of leadership which Thrall embodied for the Horde.

Now we have a very dense and fractured cast of players lined up for the next World of Warcraft expansion. Knowing what we know now…what do you think the next expansion will be? Talk to me on Twitter, and leave us your thoughts below!

]]>http://nerdist.com/massive-world-of-warcrafts-new-horde-warchief-spoilers/feed/4Massive: WORLD OF WARCRAFT Prepares for the Siege of Orgrimmarhttp://nerdist.com/massive-world-of-warcraft-prepares-for-the-siege-of-orgrimmar/
http://nerdist.com/massive-world-of-warcraft-prepares-for-the-siege-of-orgrimmar/#commentsMon, 09 Sep 2013 19:00:34 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=88902Welcome to Massive, a new periodic column from our resident MMORPG expert Michele Morrow on all things massive, multiplayer, and role-playing….

It’s time to get back to what the Horde and Alliance enjoy most – destroying each other while fighting a common enemy and defeating Old Gods. World of Warcraft‘s hotly anticipated Patch 5.4, better known as the “Siege of Orgrimmar”, drops Tuesday and will reportedly be the last major content release in Mists of Pandaria.

Current Horde Warcheif Garrosh Hellscream has finally pissed off everyone on Azeroth by digging up an extremely powerful artifact called the Heart of Y’Shaarj. An Old God, Y’Shaarj was defeated by the Titans, who buried his heart in a secret vault deep within Pandaria. Once a seven-headed Old God and the progenitor of the seven evil “Sha Primes” — Doubt, Anger, Fear, Hatred, Violence, Despair, and Pride — Y’Shaarj’s dying breath corrupted the lands, continuing to feed off negative emotions. The Pandaren, trained in love, patience and compassion, learned the dangers of the Sha, for “…swords cannot slash doubt. Armor cannot deflect hatred.” And thus, they have restricted their contribution to its powers. Everything was fairly under control until the meat-headed warriors of the Horde and Alliance crashed into their peaceful continent.

Although World of Warcraft suffered a significant loss of subscribers last quarter (1.3 million as reported by Joystiq), it’s currently the world’s most successful subscription-based MMORPG. Many have dissed Mist of Pandaria’s anthropomorphic panda people as a Kung-Fu Panda rip-off, but hidden within this seemingly childlike attraction lies rich, artistic expression. I’m not saying art doesn’t exist in hundreds of games, but Mists of Pandaria has been somewhat misunderstood. The Warcraft Sha was loosely based on feng shui – a Chinese form of geomancy. And real giant pandas, native to China, represent strength in the face of severe extinction. The creation of an entire Pandaren race was something larger than simply appealing to a younger audience.

Now that Garrosh has seized control of an Old God’s malevolent heart, World of Warcraft players get to rip apart massive bosses directly inside the Horde capitol. The Seige of Orgrimmar boasts two stages – one downing the final Sha (the Sha of Pride), and the second killing the insidious Garrosh Hellscream. I haven’t been this excited about raiding in a really long time – not since Icecrown Citadel. I want that orc’s head on a spike like I do Tywin Lannister’s.

But while the majority of players will be focused on raiding, Blizzard has curiously created a new land called “The Timeless Isle”. In a post by Community Manager Bashiok, a once vanished island has reappeared “in a state of perpetual sunset”. In addition, “The Timeless Isle has come and gone throughout history – sometimes just a glimmer in the distance, often appearing in different locations. Some less fortunate adventurers dared step foot on the island during these moments and were just as quickly lost to the Timeways, never to be seen again.”

So why is Blizzard introducing a chaotic, time-centric island now? World of Warcraft has a deep history experimenting with the timeways, the Infinite Dragonflight, and now, a new faction called the Timewalkers – right at the end of Mists of Pandaria. What all of it means, you’ll have to wait and see for yourself once the patch goes live. Read up on Blizzard’s official World of Warcraft: Siege of Orgrimmar Patch 5.4 for all your class nerfs, armor sets, pet battles, and major updates.

Comment below or hit me up on Twitter if you think Garrosh will be the guild-breaker Arthas once was, and also… what’s up with the Timeless Isle? Let us know what you think!

]]>http://nerdist.com/massive-world-of-warcraft-prepares-for-the-siege-of-orgrimmar/feed/8Top Ten Gaming Apps You Should Havehttp://nerdist.com/top-ten-gaming-apps-you-should-have/
http://nerdist.com/top-ten-gaming-apps-you-should-have/#commentsThu, 22 Aug 2013 19:40:52 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=87012Whether you’re a casual player or hardcore elitist, we’ve got some essential gaming apps that everyone across the spectrum should experience. Mobile gaming has never been better, and while it continues to soar to new heights, let’s take a moment to be sure no one missed a few of our favorite highlights and hidden gems.

Plants Vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time (iOS)

Seattle-based PopCap Games just dropped the sequel to Plants Vs. Zombies this past week. Although everyone worried about it’s freemium-ness, the game is ridiculously enjoyable and playable without engaging in microtransations. The cleverly named Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time is at once a joke to the fans who clamored for the sequel… and also about time travel. Turns out Crazy Dave ate the most amazing taco ever. Instead of simply ordering another taco, he wants to go back in time and eat that exact same taco. Solid plan. So he recruits a friend with a time machine (like you do), which takes him back a little farther than he expected: Ancient Egypt. Now players are charged with fighting back through different themed worlds to fulfill Crazy Dave’s dream of the perfect taco. With new plants, new zombies and a Super Mario-esque overworld map, PvZ2 is a mobile tower defense must-have.

Block Fortress (iOS)

Developer Fours4ken Media has combined three serious addictions into one super game by mixing Minecraft, tower defense and first-person shooter into Block Fortress. Building a killer tower now means you gotta defend the crap outta it, because the menacing Goblocks are out to tear it down. Build, fight and survive as long as you can. Pro note: The time of day and cycle of night will affect your gameplay, so make sure to prepare yourself against evening raids. And, if you want to involve friends, team up in a 2-4 player multiplayer co-op.

The Walking Dead: Season One (iOS)

Telltale Games took home the 2012 VGA “Game of the Year” for this stunningly emotional game. The console version was insanely good, and the iPad version is crazy immersive. This is definitely one of those games you need to play with the same level of respect you’d give to a book. For those of you new to the series, it’s about a group of people from southern Georgia trying to survive a zombie outbreak. In a five-part graphic adventure, your choices and actions will change the fate of the characters. In other words, your choices make a tangible difference, and after spending some time in protagonist Lee Everett’s shoes, they’ll start to matter to you as well. Highly recommended for the iPad, but not suggested for the iPhone.

Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin (iOS)

This bizarre little Platformer is brought to us by Press Play and The Microsoft Corporation. In Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin, you get to play as a microscopic tentacle guy named Lemmy who escaped an experiment by jumping into the mouth of a dolphin-headed scientist. Your maze is Professor Phluff’s flesh and guts, so it’ll be just like that episode of The Magic Schoolbus, but grosser! While you’re swimming around the insides of a mostly human body and clawing on for dear life, we think you’ll find it horrifically adorable.

The Room (iOS/Android)

Fireproof Games designed an intimate, haunting puzzle game about an ornate box full of mystery. Much like The Walking Dead, The Room is an immersive experience. Inspecting the box will reveal an unusual story line about a person with the initials A.S. Everyone wanted this game to be longer, and thankfully Fireproof is finally releasing the new chapter on August 29th, The Room: Epilogue. Both trailers are presented here for your wonderment.

World of Goo (iOS/Android)

Even though this masterpiece once claimed an iPad “Game of the Year” title along with an insane amount of accolades, it never ceases to amaze how many people don’t know about it. With only $10k and a coffee shop Wi-Fi connection, 2D Boy created World of Goo, a gorgeous, physics-based puzzler about the adorable, likable Goo. Divided into 5 chapters, the main idea is to get Goo balls from point A to point B by building towers and bridges for travel without toppling. Although the game was originally released on PC and Wii, the iOS and Android versions proved World of Goo to be the perfect pick-up game without losing its art.

Spaceteam (iOS/Android)

Yelling at your friends has never been so much fun! Brought to us by independent developer Henry Smith, Spaceteam is a cooperative sci-fi game between 2 to 4 players about a ship falling apart. Your screen will prompt commands with increasingly absurd “technobabble”. As a team, you’ll need to master the art of shouting and listening to complete the objectives and advance sectors. Inevitably, your Spaceteam will fail and a flaming mass will consume your ship. It’s a stupidly fun, proximity-based party game played via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The dude who created it charges nothing, but sells add-ons if you’d like to donate to his continued work. This YouTube video doesn’t really do the gameplay justice, so you’ll just have to trust us on this one. Android version coming soon.

Osmos (iOS/Android)

Ambient and challenging, Hemisphere Games created a truly awe-inspiring, physics-based game. In Osmos, the goal is to grow and survive. Absorb “motes” and move around by ejecting matter behind you. Losing some of your primordial ooze will shrink you however, so you’ll need to chill out and not get too crazy. Regaining your size is always possible, but beware of the other motes. They’re trying to grow too. The bigger the mote, the more motes it can absorb. Don’t be the smaller mote.

Badland (iOS)

Starting out as a furry little animal in a silhouetted world of vibrant colors, Badlandtakes you on a puzzle platforming adventure. This game is definitely challenging, and you’ll have to think quick to escape certain death. When you want a change of pace, try the hilarious multiplayer. Up to four friends can compete against each other, all on one screen (tablet obviously recommended).

Ridiculous Fishing: A Tale of Redemption (iOS)

That’s right… fishing! Damn right! Consider how many PC/console games require us to fish. It’s a basic skill! But not in Ridiculous Fishing. This app raises the bar. Straight from developer Vlambeer’s media kit, Ridiculous Fishing: A Tale of Redemption is “a handcrafted game about fishing with guns, chainsaws & toasters.” Need we say more?

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Did we miss any of your favorite apps? Let us in the comments below or let me know on Twitter!

The sun shines down hard onto the Kick-Ass 2 Comic-Con playground. Actor John Leguizamo mightily lifts a couch and moves it over for us to sit down on, under the shade. Event assistants rush over to offer aid, but John politely refuses while cracking jokes. Comedy is his super power. As a kid, John lived in a tough New York neighborhood and used humor to defuse relentless bullies. A franchise like Kick-Ass is right up his alley.

Leguizamo can’t help but laugh and ponder while he recounts the first time he saw Kick-Ass, “I didn’t know what the hell to expect. But it knocked me over, man, ‘cuz it was so… I mean it’s such an incredible, valuable story. The violence and the profanity, you just can’t believe it’s coming out of that little girl’s mouth. I loved it! It won me over.“ Known for his raw humor, honesty and profanity, Leguizamo now joins the cast of Kick-Ass 2 in the form of Javier, a new character addition to the Kick-Ass franchise. The highly anticipated sequel hits theatres August 16th, 2013.

Not knowing what character he would be playing, Leguizamo underwent extreme superhero enthusiasm on the phone call with director Jeff Wadlow. “I was like ‘No way, I can’t believe it – I’m gonna be a superhero!? Oh, yes, oh, my God!!’” He starts joking around and rattling off his superhero wish list: “I was like ‘I’ll shoot up steroids, I don’t care, man! I want a special power. I know what kind of costume I want.” We had to know what he envisioned! “I wanted to be capeless! And I wanted it to be, like, more flesh looking… like, you couldn’t really tell if it was flesh or costume. Kind of weird! But [Jeff] says, ‘No, you’re gonna be you.’ I was like, ‘Oh wow, really? That’s kinda boring…. You know, it ended up being really great because Chris and I sorta created this Batman/Alfred thing. You know?” A slight pause before he adds, “He’s the superstar, and I’m his bitch. And that’s okay.”

Christopher Mintz-Plasse reprises his role as Red Mist, but this time with a brand new NSFW moniker: The Motherfucker. “I’m supposed to try to tell him what to do,” Leguizamo says, “because I’m his surrogate dad. His parents are gone. I’m supposed to take care of him. But he doesn’t listen to me. He is a little pain-in-the-ass, little Motherfucker (laughing). I’m tryin’ to make a man outta him. I can’t let him go out there in the world and get his ass kicked. That doesn’t work, so now I gotta round up a whole set of villains to take care of him. And then I end up being the catalyst why he goes from Red Mist to Motherfucker.”

Leguizamo loves comics, subculture, and nerd culture. After all, in 1993, he played the iconic Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Although the movie was a failure at the box office, it doesn’t go without historical consideration that it was first live-action video game movie. Leguizamo gives a wry smile, a rare blend of folly and honor as he thinks back on the reception of Super Mario Bros. over its 20-year life span. “It was incredible before it came out (shakes his head), and it’s incredible now! Back then, not so much. But now, people… kids grew up with that. So we were like the iconic video game. The first ones.”

Video game movies and comic book movies are two different beasts. It’s refreshing to hear John’s humorous, yet poignant, perspective as he’s had experience in the adaptation of both genres. “It makes sense, it makes sense. I mean, comic book movies have a story arc, video games don’t. So you have to create a legend, which doesn’t exist… more than just a legend. It has to have the mechanics of the script. And it’s harder in a video game. Because, it doesn’t really have a ‘beginning’, a ‘middle’ and an ‘end’ that’s emotionally satisfying. I gotta say I’ve been in a couple book adaptations and I’m very intrigued by the process. It doesn’t always work. And I think part of the flaw is when you stay too loyal to the original material.”

He searches for the emphasis he wants to convey. “You really… you really gotta… you gotta stray from it, man. You gotta take creative license. Otherwise, it’s two different mediums and they serve two different audiences. And you have to not be so loyal. You really don’t.” Leguizamo also compares a book-to-movie adaptation he did in 2007, Love in the Time of Cholera, one of the great books of all time. “But you can’t just take what’s there. You can’t. You gotta make your own movie. Your movie’s gotta stand on its own.”

Nerdist heard that Leguizamo has a new television series coming out; Being fans of his legendary one-man shows, we wondered if his TV show will reflect a similar tone. He was more than surprised that anyone even knew about his TV deal. Although it’s all still on the hush, John dropped a little hint of what we can expect if everything goes according to plan. “I mean… I haven’t closed the deal yet. I’m meeting this week. We’re in talks. I already pitched it. They love the story and I can’t wait to close this week, hopefully. We’re really close. It’s not gonna be like my one man shows, but it’s definitely gonna have the tone of my own comedy, you know? Very dark, very edgy, very vulnerable, very sexual. Very awkward and flawed (laughs)!”

Those very reasons are why we’re glad to see Leguizamo cast in Kick-Ass 2: Dark, edgy, vulnerable, sexual, awkward, flawed. “Ya! I love this. Like Spawn. I love Spawn. That crazy, quirky little cult, sub-cult hit? This reminded me of Spawn a lot in that same ‘thinking outside of the box.’ These misfits, outcasts… you know, surviving in America. I love those stories.”

Although he may not be playing the fleshy, capeless superhero of his dreams, Leguizamo has already gained hero status in the eyes of millions. He loved his experience this year at Comic-Con. “I love walkin’ around and seeing the make up of the people. The fact that at least 60% of them are Latin, black and Asian… and they’re all nerds and comic book fans… that really, I dunno. That warms my heart. ‘Cuz sometimes you just think that, I dunno, that we don’t exist or we aren’t an audience. And you come here and you go, wow the majority of the audience is people of color, and then you go, ‘why not more superheroes of color to serve this underserved group’, you know? It makes me glad. It makes me want to create for these people.”